Tallarn is a world of endless dunes and lethal sun, poisoned in ages past and reclaimed only through hardship. Its people are nomads and survivors, accustomed to scarcity, extremes of temperature, and the necessity of striking swiftly before retreating to the safety of the wastes. This heritage shapes a distinctive way of war founded on manoeuvre, endurance, and the refusal to be pinned down.
The Desert Raiders excel at mobile warfare, using speed and coordination to isolate and dismantle enemy forces piece by piece. They are patient hunters, willing to shadow a foe for days, probing for weakness and striking only when the advantage is theirs. Their fighting columns are famed for their armoured expertise, and they treat the machines of war with the same care a nomad shows a prized steed.
Tallarn soldiers are pragmatic and adaptable, valuing cunning over brute force and survival over glory. They understand that a raid that trades lives for nothing is a raid wasted, and they husband their strength for the moment when a single decisive blow will unbalance the enemy. In the open field and the running battle, few can match them.
Astra Militarum
Order of battle
The Tallarn Desert Raiders field the units of the Astra Militarum — a detachment from the roster:
Kindred formations
Other Astra Militarum formations
Armageddon Steel LegionForged on a poisoned hive world locked in endless war against the greenskin, the Armageddon Steel Legion are the foremost mechanised infantry of the Astra Militarum. They ride to battle sealed within Chimera transports, their faces hidden behind rebreathers that filter their world's toxic air. Tempered by successive Ork invasions on their own soil, they are grim, methodical, and utterly unyielding.
Cadian Shock TroopsRaised on a fortress world that stood sentinel beside the Imperium's greatest warp storm, the Cadians were the finest line infantry the Astra Militarum ever produced. Bred from birth for war and drilled to machine-like precision, they became the standard by which all other regiments were measured. Their discipline under fire was legendary, and their sacrifice in the defence of their homeworld passed into grim Imperial legend.
Catachan Jungle FightersFrom a death world of predatory flora and monstrous fauna come the Catachans, the deadliest close-quarters and guerrilla fighters in the Astra Militarum. To reach adulthood on Catachan is itself a feat of survival, and those who muster into its regiments bring an animal instinct for ambush, sabotage, and the killing blade. They despise parade-ground discipline but excel where the fighting is dirtiest.
Death Korps of KriegThe Death Korps of Krieg are grim specialists in siege and attrition warfare, drawn from a blasted world that atoned for an ancient rebellion through centuries of self-imposed sacrifice. Masked, silent, and utterly fatalistic, they regard their own deaths as a debt owed to the Emperor. No regiment endures the horrors of trench warfare and grinding sieges with such uncomplaining resolve.
Elysian Drop TroopsThe Elysian Drop Troops descend from the heavens feet-first into the deadliest war zones the Imperium can devise. Light, fast, and lavishly trained in airborne assault, they drop by grav-chute and rappel from Valkyrie carriers to seize objectives far behind enemy lines. Once grounded, they melt into ambush and guerrilla warfare, trusting to mobility where they cannot trust to numbers.
Mordian Iron GuardFrom a tidally locked world of eternal night come the Mordian Iron Guard, perhaps the most rigidly disciplined line infantry in the entire Astra Militarum. Resplendent in immaculate parade dress even amid the carnage of battle, they stand shoulder to shoulder and pour disciplined volleys into the foe. Where lesser men break and flee, the Iron Guard hold their ground, unmoved by terror or slaughter.
Savlar Chem-DogsThe Savlar Chem-Dogs are penal regiments scraped from the poisoned mining moons of Savlar, where convicts toil and die amid toxic chemical deposits. Driven not by discipline but by greed and the promise of plunder, they are filthy, treacherous, and astonishingly effective in the very dirtiest fighting. The Imperium tolerates their crimes only because so few regiments kill with such vicious enthusiasm.
Valhallan Ice WarriorsBred in the frozen warrens of a shattered ice world, the Valhallan Ice Warriors are masters of attrition, siege, and the long war of endurance. They wed massed artillery to relentless infantry assault, spending lives without hesitation to grind an enemy down to nothing. Cold, stoic, and inured to every hardship, they have no equal when a campaign becomes a contest of sheer, unbreakable will.
Vostroyan FirstbornThe Vostroyan Firstborn muster from a frozen, smoke-wreathed forge world whose people labour under a debt of shame ten thousand years old. In perpetual atonement for withholding their armies during the Imperium's darkest hour, every family surrenders its eldest son to the Astra Militarum, arming him with heirloom weapons and ornate crimson-and-gold war-plate. They fight with the sombre pride of soldiers forever paying for an ancestral sin.